Ahrweiler district: Fear of the future, concern about Corona

Police officers are still looking for victims, a doctor reports of residents who can no longer sleep – and then there is the fear of Corona. Even days after the flood, normality in Rhineland-Palatinate is unthinkable.

“Picnic on the Ahr! It’s beautiful in Germany too!”, Says the community of Müsch’s homepage. And: “We wish you a nice vacation time!” Holidays and picnics are currently unreal and far away for many people in the community in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate. The fact that the summer vacation began on Monday – that does not play a role in the current exceptional situation for very few.

Tourists and day trippers are currently not seen on the banks of the Ahr. Instead, there are plenty of policemen in rubber boots and waders looking for corpses in and around the river – especially between bent tree trunks, branches and rubbish that the current has driven onto the bank.

Difficult identification

The emergency services systematically comb the river bank of the Ahr in the entire district of Ahrweiler. Around 130,000 people live there, so far, according to the police, the flood of last week has claimed more than 117 deaths here alone. The Interior Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Roger Lewentz, warns that one must be prepared for this number to continue to rise. At least 170 people are still missing in the region.

The police believe that in the coming days they will mainly find corpses in pumped-out basements in the flood area. When searching in the villages, the officials systematically go through the houses. “Not that neighbors find their neighbors,” says Lewentz. The situation is stressful enough for the people. Also because so far only around a third of the bodies have been identified. The strong current of the flood has carried many dead miles away from their place of residence.

Unimaginable amount of rubbish

In addition to the search for missing persons and corpses, the big cleanup continues. Garbage is piling up in front of the houses, in the streets, everywhere. Broken dishes, mattresses, front doors, cupboards, garden furniture, car tires, electrical appliances – everything is in huge piles. Nothing has been sorted or shredded for removal. A huge challenge for waste disposal companies. Since last Friday, twice as much bulky waste has been delivered to the Trier region alone than in a whole year.

Maximilian Monzel, association director of the responsible waste management association, says that 200 trucks are currently in use to remove the garbage. One wants to give the flood victims at least this little relief. But because of the huge amount, this is not that easy: “At the moment the greatest difficulty is loading the material. Simply walking through the streets and then you have to get these masses onto the truck first.” It was only thanks to the police that it was sometimes even possible to get the traffic chaos under control so that the trucks could drive off quickly.

Sick reports for flood victims

Dr. Klaus Korte asked. The doctor has had a family doctor’s practice in the community of Ahrbrück for 20 years. She was also damaged by the masses of water, which is why the doctor has been treating his patients in the local elementary school for several days. There is more than enough to do, says the doctor.

He has seen and heard a lot in the course of his life. Nothing could be compared to the storm disaster: “Against what happened here with us, Corona is a children’s birthday party!” Among other things, he and his team would get insulin for diabetic children, which had been flushed into the Ahr, patients with mud wounds needed antibiotics, and many people were traumatized and, in some cases, could not sleep for days. And then, reports the doctor, there are actually employers who, even in this disaster, insist that their employees, who have lost everything, bring a sick note.

Fear of corona

Even if the pandemic currently seems far, far away for most flood victims. The state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Ahrweiler district administration fear that there could be a sudden increase in corona diseases in the flood area. In the hours of agony and despair, many thoughts crossed most people’s minds.

They tend not to think about keeping their distance, wearing a mask and paying attention to hygiene. Especially since the masses of water in many places have washed away both masks and disinfectants. The county vaccination center was also flooded. Therefore, from now on a vaccination bus drives to the villages in the region. Everyone can get vaccinated there without an appointment. Corona tests are also offered.

Concern for the future

Meanwhile, many politicians, restaurateurs and hoteliers in the region have another concern. After the flood has devastated the many small, pretty villages, who will still want to vacation here? And: Now that it is clear that the previously harmless Ahr can turn into a raging river, who will want to build a house here again?

“We don’t end up in the mud”

But even in the greatest catastrophe there are small moments of happiness. Wolfgang Horna from Ahrweiler experienced one like this. He has missed his wedding ring since the night of the flood – and has now found it in the mud a few meters from his house. Between bulky rubbish and dirt, his wife had put his wedding ring back on again, just like when she made her wedding vows. With a trembling voice, Wolfgang Horna says defiantly: “I thank the Lord that I got such a wife, with her I will make it, we will all make it, we won’t go under, we won’t end up in the mud!”